The Courtesan

A Novel

Fiction & Literature, Cultural Heritage, Family Life, Historical
Cover of the book The Courtesan by Alexandra Curry, Penguin Publishing Group
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Alexandra Curry ISBN: 9780698405271
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group Publication: September 8, 2015
Imprint: Dutton Language: English
Author: Alexandra Curry
ISBN: 9780698405271
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Publication: September 8, 2015
Imprint: Dutton
Language: English

A timeless novel inspired by the legendary real-life Chinese courtesan Sai Jinhua—an extraordinary woman who bridged two worlds in the twilight decades of the Qing dynasty, a tumultuous era of East meets West.

The year is 1881. Seven-year-old Jinhua is left an orphan, alone and unprotected after her mandarin father’s summary execution for the crime of speaking the truth. For seven silver coins, she is sold to a brothel-keeper and subjected to the worst of human nature.

When an elegant but troubled scholar takes Jinhua as his concubine, she enters the close world of his jealous first wife. Yet it is Jinhua who accompanies him—as emissary to the foreign devil nations of Prussia, Austria-Hungary, and Russia—on an exotic journey to Vienna. As he struggles to play his part in China's early, blundering diplomatic engagement with the Western world, Jinhua’s eyes and heart are opened to the irresistible possibilities of a place that is mesmerizing and strange, where she will struggle against the constraints of tradition and her husband’s authority and seek to find “Great Love.”

Sai Jinhua is an altered woman when she returns to a changed and changing China, where a dangerous clash of cultures pits East against West. As the Boxer Rebellion brews and finally breaks, Jinhua’s Western sympathies will threaten not only her own survival but the survival of those who are most dear to her.

An authentic and beautifully written portrait of China’s relationship with the West, the story of the incredible Sai Jinhua, told the way it might have been, is not to be forgotten.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A timeless novel inspired by the legendary real-life Chinese courtesan Sai Jinhua—an extraordinary woman who bridged two worlds in the twilight decades of the Qing dynasty, a tumultuous era of East meets West.

The year is 1881. Seven-year-old Jinhua is left an orphan, alone and unprotected after her mandarin father’s summary execution for the crime of speaking the truth. For seven silver coins, she is sold to a brothel-keeper and subjected to the worst of human nature.

When an elegant but troubled scholar takes Jinhua as his concubine, she enters the close world of his jealous first wife. Yet it is Jinhua who accompanies him—as emissary to the foreign devil nations of Prussia, Austria-Hungary, and Russia—on an exotic journey to Vienna. As he struggles to play his part in China's early, blundering diplomatic engagement with the Western world, Jinhua’s eyes and heart are opened to the irresistible possibilities of a place that is mesmerizing and strange, where she will struggle against the constraints of tradition and her husband’s authority and seek to find “Great Love.”

Sai Jinhua is an altered woman when she returns to a changed and changing China, where a dangerous clash of cultures pits East against West. As the Boxer Rebellion brews and finally breaks, Jinhua’s Western sympathies will threaten not only her own survival but the survival of those who are most dear to her.

An authentic and beautifully written portrait of China’s relationship with the West, the story of the incredible Sai Jinhua, told the way it might have been, is not to be forgotten.

More books from Penguin Publishing Group

Cover of the book The Hunters by Alexandra Curry
Cover of the book Holiday on Ice by Alexandra Curry
Cover of the book Willing Sacrifice by Alexandra Curry
Cover of the book Practical Auto & Truck Restoration HP1547 by Alexandra Curry
Cover of the book Longarm 352 by Alexandra Curry
Cover of the book Folk Vests by Alexandra Curry
Cover of the book The Heir and the Spare by Alexandra Curry
Cover of the book The Actor's Book of Monologues for Women by Alexandra Curry
Cover of the book The Mike Hammer Collection, Volume I by Alexandra Curry
Cover of the book The Global Warming Reader by Alexandra Curry
Cover of the book Murder, She Wrote: Trick or Treachery by Alexandra Curry
Cover of the book Charleston by Alexandra Curry
Cover of the book Wired for War by Alexandra Curry
Cover of the book 24 Hours by Alexandra Curry
Cover of the book Besiege by Alexandra Curry
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy